Let the spirits lead you during Inlander Restaurant Week

Inlander Restaurant Week

Dry Fly may have made its mark with its vodka. But their whiskey is where the local distillery truly flourishes. And when whiskey's good enough, you don't want a cocktail's cockiness to distract too much from its subtleties. The Old Fashioned at Anthony's in Coeur d'Alene and Melting Pot's classic Manhattan both use Dry Fly's Bourbon 101. (The Melting Pot also gives Dry Fly's gin its due, with a Vesper Martini featuring the Dry Fly Gin, Dry Fly vodka and a touch of Lillet Blanc.)

And if you really want to get in the Inland Northwest mood, you need to infuse your drinking with a bit of huckleberry action. (Grizzlies do it. You should too.) Get a Huckleberry Lemon Drop at Beverly's or Luigi's Italian Restaurant; Huckleberry Moscow Mules at Longhorn Barbecue and Cedars Floating Restaurant; a Huckleberry Negroni at the Gilded Unicorn, and a vodka-spiked Huckleberry lemonade at the Dockside and Scratch. Remedy Kitchen and Tavern's "Fruit and Forest" cocktail mixes Warrior Huckleberry Vodka, with ginger simple syrup lemon and sage. The Clemson at the Backyard takes Huckleberry Vodka and adds Cointreau Liqueur, sweet and sour, and a splash of cranberry in a float of champagne.

Prefer your fruit with a bit of kick? Try the Spicy Gin-Berry at the Boiler Room, which stars serrano peppers and a huckleberry puree.

The original print version of this article was headlined "Let the Spirits Lead You"